In what has become a familiar ritual, a coalition of nine industry groups dispatched a letter Wednesday to congressional leaders reiterating their opposition to the use of GSE guaranty fees to offset other budget provisions. This time, Congress is considering tapping GSE g-fees as lawmakers look toward an extension of unemployment benefits, which expired on Dec. 31.

Official Washington and mortgage-industry observers expect some near-term flux as new Federal Housing Finance Director Mel Watt adjusts to his job and works to make the conservator and regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises his own. The former North Carolina Congressman was sworn in Monday to a five-year term as the FHFA’s new director. Watt replaces Acting Director Edward DeMarco, who was appointed as interim agency head following the resignation of FHFA Director James Lockhart in August 2009. The 20-year veteran House Democrat had been expected...

The top Democrat and Republican of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee admitted last week they will not make their ambitious deadline of clearing a housing finance reform bill by the end of this year, but the senior lawmakers said they remain “bullish” on moving legislation to the Senate floor sooner rather than later in 2014. Speaking at a Bipartisan Policy Center event, Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, blamed “a couple of curveballs,” including the 16-day government shutdown, for falling short of his and Idaho Republican Mike Crapo’s self-imposed deadline announced in September. He also noted his panel held 12 hearings on housing reform this year, including the final one last week.

Fannie, Freddie Suspend Holiday Evictions. In what has become an annual tradition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each announced last week that all foreclosure-related evictions of single-family and two-to-four unit properties are suspended until after the New Year.“At this time of year, we want to bring some relief to families who confronted financial difficulties and went through foreclosure,” said Chris Bowden, Freddie’s senior vice president of REO. The GSEs are also encouraging struggling homeowners to contact their servicers for help to avoid foreclosure. “We encourage any homeowner who is having difficulty making their mortgage payment to reach out for help right away,” added Fannie Chief Operating Officer Terry Edwards.

Revised loan-level price adjustments recently announced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that will make mortgages more expensive for a wide breadth of borrowers are not sitting well with different factions of the industry, including mortgage insurance firms that could lose some of their hard-fought market share gains. Industry trade groups are already turning to their friends in Congress, hoping that certain key members of the House and Senate financial service committees might have a talk with Rep. Mel Watt, the North Carolina Democrat who’s waiting to be sworn in as the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The government-sponsored enterprises announced...[Includes one data chart]

The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee acknowledged this week they will not make their ambitious deadline of clearing a housing-finance reform bill by the end of this year. But the senior lawmakers said they remain “bullish” on moving legislation to the Senate floor sooner rather than later in 2014. Speaking at a Bipartisan Policy Center event, Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, blamed “a couple of curveballs,” including the 16-day government shutdown, for falling short of the deadline he and Idaho Republican Mike Crapo set for the committee. The committee did manage to hold 12 hearings on reform and what to do with the two government-sponsored enterprises that have been in conservatorship for a little over five years. “Beyond private capital, we are also working...

Severe decreases in the FHA loan limits in numerous counties across the country have spurred industry demand for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to disclose the methodology and process it used to determine the new loan limits. Although HUD’s announcement of lower FHA loan limits for 2014 had been long expected, mortgage industry participants were caught off guard by the substantial reductions in FHA loan limits caused by the statutory change in how the limits are calculated and by revised median house prices. For 2014, HUD announced that the national ceiling limit for single-family mortgages in high-cost areas would decline to ... [1 chart]

With one week left on Congress’ calendar year, Senate approval of S. 1376, the FHA Solvency Act of 2013, before the end of 2013 is becoming more unlikely, according to lobbyists. The bill is stalled and is unlikely to be brought to the floor any time soon. If the housing sector continues to improve, the government-sponsored enterprises continue to generate profit and the FHA’s newer books of business continue to perform well, passing GSE or FHA reform legislation next year would be an uphill battle, lobbyists said. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing S. 1376 would result in ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released a final rule defining a “qualified mortgage” that is insured by the FHA. The final rule will be effective on Jan. 10, 2014. The HUD rule builds off the QM/Ability-to-Repay rule, which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized earlier this year. The Dodd-Frank Act requires HUD to propose a QM definition that is aligned with the ability-to-repay criteria set out in the Truth in Lending Act and with the agency’s mission to ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week announced it would direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement a three-pronged adjustment in guaranty fee the two government-sponsored enterprises charge lenders, including a 10 basis point g-fee hike beginning in March. The increases – which would boost the average guaranty fee for new loans to over 60 bps – are part of the FHFA’s strategic plan for Fannie and Freddie to attract more private capital to the mortgage market and “improve the relationship between g-fee and risk,” according to FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco. As part of the plan, Fannie and Freddie will drop...